The Sheepfold

More Infomation:
Founded: 1991

Director:  Mary Rewers

Beginnings:
The Sheepfold is a small Christian home that provides individual day and residential care to children and young people with severe special needs. It was started in 1991 by two British ladies (one of whom, Mary Rewers, is the current Director) in their flat in Beit Jala, before moving to Beit Sahour, a small Palestinian Christian Arab village just outside of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The vision was to provide residential and day care in the warm, cheerful, family environment of a small home.

This village is often better known as the site where the angels appeared on that first Christmas – in fact, The Sheepfold is located directly next to the Roman Catholic Shepherds’ Field Church. It is also believed to be the site of Ruth and Boaz’s field.

Activities

• The Sheepfold provides residential and day care to children aged 5 to 10 years, on a one-to-one basis. About 12 children attend as day students, and up to 5 girls, whose families are unable to care for them, receive residential care.
  
  
• Each child receives an individual programme of care, including activities aimed at their ability level, as well as medical and dental check-ups. The Sheepfold often uses the services of the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (another of BibleLands’ Overseas Partners), at a reduced cost.
  
  
• The Sheepfold works closely with the children’s families, showing them how to care for their child’s needs. Services are provided completely free of charge, as it is intended primarily to reach out to disadvantaged, low income families.
  
  
• The priority is to help those who have been refused by other institutions, usually because their disabilities are so profound. These are the children who are most in need of, and able to benefit from, the one-to-one care that a small family unit like The Sheepfold can provide.